Ribe has status as a city but feels more like a small village. Yet, it is one of the most visited places in Denmark by foreign tourists. If you are coming to Ribe, you will save money by booking accommodation in advance. Learn where to stay in Ribe here.
When it comes to areas of Ribe, the city is so small that we simply recommend staying in the centre. Near the Cathedral there are multiple bed and breakfasts, hotels and holiday apartments. Bed and breakfasts are very popular in this area of Denmark, but it is generally easier to find availability in one of the hotels. Ribe, as a matter of fact, has Denmark’s oldest extant hotel which is an interesting place to stay.
Listed below are the best hotels in Ribe city centre.
Traditional hotel in Ribe city centre → Go to booking
Hotel Dagmar is the best hotel in Ribe. It is located in an old building from 1581 and has been a place of accommodation for most of its history. The current name was coined in 1912 when the building underwent renovations. The current owners of the hotel are a family that took over in 1956 and decided to make it a high-class hotel where guests get the best possible experience.
The location is perfect, facing the Cathedral Square. You have easy walking access to the majority of the attractions in the city. Some of Ribe’s best restaurants are also a short walk away.
The interior of the hotel is gorgeous and full of atmosphere. The combination of old charm and modern comfort has made this hotel extremely popular. Hotel Dagmar has traditional furniture, original paintings on the walls, and it also has a really good restaurant in the basement. The restaurant specializes in steaks. If you visit the hotel in the summer, you can enjoy outdoor dining on the terrace instead of eating in the basement. There is a breakfast buffet which is usually included in the booking (but check up on it just to be sure).
Prices start around 1000 DKK per night. We recommend booking a few weeks in advance since prices rise when you get closer to your travel days.
Staying at Hotel Dagmar should be the main priority if you want an authentic experience. It is the oldest hotel in Denmark, and staying there is an experience in itself!
Another traditional place to stay in Ribe is this family-owned inn that has taken the name Hotel Ribe. It has four different room types, plus common areas, and it is located in a distinctly red building that dates back to 1873. It is quite central, just a few streets west of the Cathedral square.
The rooms are nice, but some of them can be a bit small. Some rooms have a balcony where you can overlook Ribe. The highlights are definitely the common areas – the inn has a really cool pub, a pool/billiard table and darts. You can make your own coffee at the inn. Breakfast is served at the pub section, and it is as typical Danish as a breakfast can be – mostly centered around bread, butter, cheese, cold cuts, various toppings, and with either coffee or orange juice to go with the food.
If you book early, a regular room will cost approximately 800 DKK per night. However, family rooms are a bit more expensive, and it also depends on the time of year. Prices are usually high in the summer and during Easter, but low for the rest of the year. It is a nice hotel to pick if you want an authentic experience in Ribe. We rank it second right after the Dagmar Hotel, but prices are a bit cheaper at Hotel Ribe, so that is a benefit.
This hotel is larger than most of its competitors in Ribe. It also has a distinct theme: Den Gamle Arrest is an old prison in the city centre. It has been turned into a hotel, but the rooms still have that prison vibe.
When you pick a room, you have to choose between staying in a cell or in the warden’s room. Of course, modern furniture has been placed inside, so it is not actually like staying in a prison. But you can sense that it used to be a prison, and some decorations are still there to signal that. For instance, the doors look like old prison-styled doors with multiple locks and a hole. Some windows are small, the cells even have bars on the windows, and obviously the hallway has a prison-like vibe. There are normal rooms too, which don’t have any prison-related decorations, so that is also an option if you don’t care for the theme.
If you book a regular room or one of the warden rooms, you will have a private bathroom, but if you stay in one of the cells, you have to share bathrooms.
Den Gamle Arrest has a central location in Ribe and it has a nice terrace where you can eat outside. Most rooms don’t have TVs, but there are common areas with entertainment.
Surprisingly, it is one of the more affordable hotels in Ribe, as prices begin around 550 DKK per night. It is one of the largest hotels, so if you struggle to find availability in the aforementioned hotels, this one might have a few openings.
Danhostel is a chain of hostels and they are present in most noteworthy Danish cities. That includes Ribe, but this particular Danhostel isn’t really hostel. Most rooms are private and have their own bathrooms as well.
You can book a room for two people, for three people, or for four people. The larger rooms do give off the hostel-impression as they have bunk beds and a hostel layout, but you won’t be sharing the room with others. For this particular reason, Danhostel is great for families or groups of friends who want to stay in the same room rather than at separate rooms in a hotel.
It is located outside of the city centre. However, this actually brings a huge benefit as you get a great view of the centre when you look out the window. You can even see the sea if you book a room on the top floor. The rooms are very simple, so don’t expect any luxury. Danhostel Ribe does have some nice facilities, such as a sports centre where you can play football/soccer, badminton, and wall-climbing.
The room prices depend based on the season, but generally, Danhostel is cheaper than most other places in Ribe. It is free to park at the hotel, you can get breakfast there, and it also has free Wi-Fi although it can be slow at times.
Ribe is full of bed & breakfasts. This is a very popular type of accommodation there, and it does feel authentic to stay in a local house.
The only problem is that these places get booked so much that it is difficult to find availability. It is much easier to find an opening with a hotel that has a bunch of rooms rather than a bed & breakfast that only has one or two rooms.
For this reason we won’t be recommending any specific BnBs here. However, you can browse for them yourself and see if you find something interesting. The best and most established bed and breakfasts in Ribe are listed on Booking.com – check the full overview here.
Ribe is an amazing city to visit. It is undoubtedly one of the most historic places in Scandinavia. Finding a nice place to stay will assure that you get a great experience. Booking a few weeks in advance is typically necessary since Ribe is such a small city, yet it gets so much tourism. The prices often rise as you get closer to your travel dates, so book early – and don’t forget to check our list of the best attractions in Ribe here!
This article was written by Jacob Jensen. He primarily covers European and South American destinations for Scope Trip while also working as the main editor for the site.
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